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Freddy Krueger at 40 – the ultimate horror movie monster (and Halloween costume)

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-daniel-301018">Adam Daniel</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a> Movie monsters have captivated audiences since the days of early cinema. They evoke fascination and terror, allowing audiences to confront their fears from the safety of the movie theatre or living room. Arguably one of the most enduring and captivating of these monsters is Freddy Krueger, the villain of the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087800/">A Nightmare on Elm Street</a> series who celebrates his 40th screen birthday this November. Memorably played by Robert Englund, Freddy quickly became a cultural icon of the 1980s and 1990s. Beyond his burned face and iconic bladed glove, Freddy’s dark humour and acidic personality set him apart from other silent, faceless killers of the era, such as Michael Myers in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077651/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_6_nm_0_in_0_q_halloween">Halloween</a> or Jason Vorhees in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080761/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Friday the 13th</a>. Written and directed by horror maven <a href="https://theconversation.com/wes-craven-the-scream-of-our-times-46915">Wes Craven</a>, 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street garnered positive reviews for its innovative concept: Freddy stalked and attacked his victims in their dreams, making him inescapable and allowing him to tap into their deepest fears. The series (seven films plus a 2010 remake and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329101/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Freddy vs. Jason</a> spin offs) blended supernatural horror and surrealism with a dark and twisted sense of humour. <h2>Scary … but funny</h2> Humour was key to Freddy’s “popularity”. Both sinister and strangely charismatic, Freddy’s psychological torture of his adolescent victims often oscillated between terrifying and amusing. A famous kill scene from 1987’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093629/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors</a> demonstrates this paradox. Aspiring actress Jennifer drifts off to sleep while watching a talk show on TV. In her dream, the host of the talk show suddenly transforms into Freddy, who attacks his guest before the TV blinks out. When Jennifer timidly approaches the TV set, Freddy’s head and clawed hands emerge from the device, snatching her while delivering an iconic one-liner: “This is it, Jennifer – your big break in TV!” Freddy turns his victims’ fears or aspirations – their dreams – against them. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dCVh4lBfW-c?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>‘Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep.’</figcaption></figure> <h2>Creating a monster</h2> Craven has shared how the character of Krueger came to life in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1510985/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy</a>, an oral history of the series. He described a childhood experience of seeing a strange mumbling man walking past his childhood home. The man stopped, he said, and looked directly at him “with a sick sense of malice”. This deeply unsettling experience helped shape Freddy’s menacing presence. The character’s creation also emerged from the filmmaker’s interest in <a href="https://www.iflscience.com/nightmare-on-elm-street-was-inspired-by-a-real-life-medical-mystery-60527">numerous reports of Southeast Asian refugees dying in their sleep</a> after experiencing vivid nightmares. In the film, Krueger’s origin story reveals him as a child murderer who was apprehended but released due to a technicality in his arrest. Seeking justice, the parents of his victims take matters into their own hands, and form a vigilante mob. They corner him in his boiler room and burn him alive. But Freddy’s spirit survives to haunt and kill the children of his executioners. <h2>Cultural repression, expressed on film</h2> Film critic and essayist <a href="https://www.cineaste.com/summer2019/robin-wood-on-horror-film-collected-essays-and-reviews#:%7E:text=Freudian%20theory%2C%20a%20crucial%20theoretical,the%20horror%20film%20perpetually%20enacts.">Robin Wood argued</a> horror films often bring to the surface elements society has repressed. These fears, desires, or cultural taboos are not openly acknowledged. But movie monsters act as manifestations of what society suppresses, such as sexuality, violence or deviant behaviour. American academic <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01956051.1995.9943696">Gary Heba</a> argues Freddy is: <blockquote> an example of America’s political unconscious violently unleashed upon itself, manifesting everything that is unspeakable and repressed in the master narrative (perversion, child abuse and murder, vigilantism, the breakdown of rationality, order, and the family, among others), but still always present in the collective unconscious of the dominant culture. </blockquote> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UBrl4H0Uzng?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Actor Robert Englund calls Freddy Krueger ‘the gift that keeps on giving’.</figcaption></figure> <h2>The monster decades</h2> The 1970s and 1980s marked a golden era for the creation of horror film nasties like Krueger, Myers, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072271/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3">The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</a>’s Leatherface and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094862/?ref_=fn_al_tt_19">killer doll Chucky</a>. Since then, the landscape of horror has shifted, with fewer singular monsters emerging. The diversification of horror sub-genres (zombie virus horror, anyone?), the rise of psychological horror (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7784604/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_4_nm_2_in_0_q_heredi">Hereditary</a>), and an emphasis on human-driven terror (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416315/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_7_nm_0_in_0_q_wolf%2520creek">Wolf Creek</a>) or supernatural forces all contribute to this shift. While modern horror continues to thrive, few characters have achieved the same iconic status as Freddy – although some would argue Art the Clown from the recent <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4281724/">Terrifier</a> franchise and the reinvigorated Pennywise from <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396484/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_6_nm_1_in_0_q_it">IT</a> could join this exclusive group. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZuYoEtEI_go?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>‘Five, six, grab your crucifix.’ A 2010 Nightmare on Elm St reboot failed to fire.</figcaption></figure> <h2>Happy Halloween!</h2> Despite a <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179056/">failed reboot in 2010</a>, the legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street is strong, having influenced numerous filmmakers with its skilful mix of surrealism and slasher horror. However, it’s the orchestrator of the titular nightmares whose legacy is perhaps the strongest. With each Halloween, new fans choose Freddy for their costume. All it takes is a tattered striped sweater, a brown fedora hat, and a glove with sharp, finger-lengthening blades. Don’t forget makeup to re-create Krueger’s grisly facial burns. Sweet dreams!<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/240905/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-daniel-301018">Adam Daniel</a>, Associate Lecturer in Communications, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a> Image credits: New Line Cinema - IMDB This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/freddy-krueger-at-40-the-ultimate-horror-movie-monster-and-halloween-costume-240905">original article</a>. </div>

Movies

Olympian's life "a living nightmare" after simple self-check out mistake

A former Olympian has spoken about how her life was ruined after she accidentally failed to scan to items at a self-checkout machine in Walmart. Canadian athlete Meaggan Pettipiece, 48, was arrested on March 28 in Indiana for theft, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance. The charges have since been dropped, but Pettipiece lost her prestigious job as the head coach of the Valparaiso University softball team as a result and says her career and reputation have been ruined. The ordeal began when the self-checkout machine at Walmart reportedly failed to scan the asparagus and ham that Pettipiece intended to purchase. Walmart security saw that she failed to scan the items — worth a total of $67 — prompting them to call the police despite her having paid $167 for her other groceries. Pettipiece was arrested and when police searched her they found three disposable vapes in her purse, along with two unopened blister packs containing anti-nausea medication Zofran. The former athlete said the vapes did not contain any nicotine or THC, and the anti-nausea pills belonged to an assistant coach who had asked her to keep them in her purse during a softball game, days before her arrest. “We both forgot about them,” Pettipiece told the National Post. The outlet reported that earlier this month, her lawyer submitted an application for dismissal that included her account of the incident, proof of her assistant’s prescription, and character reference letters. After reading the application, her charges were dropped by justice officials on September 19, but the damage caused by the incident "changed everything". “It is bittersweet,” she told National Post. “I’m happy, obviously, the charges were dismissed. The sad part is the damage it did to my career. It has changed everything in my life.” Pettipiece resigned as head coach of the softball team shortly after the Walmart incident. "It's been five months, a living nightmare. I lost my career, I lost my job, the life I was building and it's been really difficult." Along with the damage to her career, Pettipiece said the effect on her reputation has been equally heartbreaking. “The softball community is a tight-knit group and it (the news) went through like wildfire,” she said. “You really do learn who the people are that really believe in you and trust you and are truly a friend for you." The former athlete is now living in Ohio with her family, and though the charges against her have been dismissed she is worried the damage "can't be reversed". “The tough thing is, how do you get out to people that you are innocent? And this damage was done for something so ridiculous,” Pettipiece told the outlet. “I’m not sure of the future. For now, I’m going to stay at home and focus on my kids. I’d like to figure out which direction I’m going to go in.” Image: Valparaiso University Athletics/ ZikG / Shutterstock.com

Legal

"Worst nightmare": Teen dies one day after flu diagnosis

William Jones was complaining of a sore throat and cough last month and when his mum called the doctor, they were told that it was most likely the flu. However, the following morning when Rebecca Rollason went to check on her 16-year-old son, he was found unresponsive in his bed in their Wellington home. "We ask ourselves how what started as a sore throat, snotty nose and a cough on Tuesday to no longer with us three days later," the grieving mum told the NZ Herald. "No one understands, we don't know what happened... it feels like the worst nightmare that we cannot wake from." Rollason explained that her family have to "wait for results" in hopes of understanding what happened and how the teenager, who was barely sick, passed away so suddenly. "We just don’t understand how this can happen to a boy who was barely ever sick and was very healthy," she said. "It is an incredibly hard and devastating time for us." A family friend has helped set up a <a href="https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/rebecca-lost-her-son-william-last-friday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fundraising page</a> to help relieve the financial pressure on her and William's two brothers while they grieve. "It is every parents worst nightmare and a shocking tragedy to lose a healthy child from a sudden and brief illness," a statement from the fundraising page read. "The money will help the family with funeral costs and ease Financial burden while they grieve and come to terms with Williams passing." On July 1 they shared an update on the fundraising page, saying: "Rebecca and family would like all to know that are incredibly grateful for all the support and kindness." Image: Givealittle

Caring

"It’s a nightmare": Star golfer's cause of death revealed

Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray has died at the age of 30. Golf officials announced his death on Sunday morning, with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan releasing a statement. “We were devastated to learn — and are heartbroken to share — that PGA Tour player Grayson Murray passed away this morning,” Monahan said. “I am at a loss for words. The PGA Tour is a family, and when you lose a member of your family, you are never the same" Murray's parents later confirmed that their son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge - a PGA Tour event - due to illness. “We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone,” his parents, Eric and Terry Murray said in a statement. “It’s surreal that we not only have to admit it to ourselves, but that we also have to acknowledge it to the world. It’s a nightmare.” "We have so many questions that have no answers. But one. Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes. By us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, all of his extended family, by his friends, by his fellow players and — it seems — by many of you who are reading this. He was loved and he will be missed. “Life wasn't always easy for Grayson, and although he took his own life, we know he rests peacefully now.” They have also asked for privacy and for people to honour Murray by being kind to one another. Murray has previously been open about his battle with depression and alcoholism, according to The NY Post. He talked about turning the corner in his life and being eight months sober, after winning the Sony Open in Honolulu in January. “It's not easy,” Murray said immediately after winning. "I wanted to give up a lot of times. Give up on myself. Give up on the game of golf. Give up on life, at times.” Murray tied for 43rd last week in the PGA Championship, which earned him a spot in the US Open next month at Pinehurst No.2 in North Carolina. The PGA Tour commissioner said he spoke with Murray's parents about halting play, but they insisted the golf tournament to continue. “We mourn Grayson and pray for comfort for his loved ones. I reached out to Grayson’s parents to offer our deepest condolences, and during that conversation, they asked that we continue with tournament play. They were adamant that Grayson would want us to do so," he said. Monahan flew to Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday to be with players, and many of them wore black-and-red pins on their caps - the colours of the Carolina Hurricanes, Grayson's favourite NHL team - to honour the golfer. Image: Daniel Lea/Csm/ Shutterstock Editorial

Caring

The science of dreams and nightmares – what is going on in our brains while we’re sleeping?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/drew-dawson-13517">Drew Dawson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/madeline-sprajcer-1315489">Madeline Sprajcer</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> Last night you probably slept for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352721816301292">seven to eight hours</a>. About one or two of these was likely in deep sleep, especially if you’re young or physically active. That’s because <a href="http://apsychoserver.psych.arizona.edu/jjbareprints/psyc501a/readings/Carskadon%20Dement%202011.pdf">sleep changes with age</a> and <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/apm/2017/1364387/">exercise</a> affects brain activity. About three or four hours will have been spent in light sleep. For the remaining time, you were likely in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. While this is not the only time your brain is potentially dreaming – we also dream during other sleep stages – it is the time your brain activity is most likely to be recalled and reported when you’re awake. That’s usually because either really weird thoughts or feelings wake you up or because the last hour of sleep is nearly all <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elizaveta-Solomonova/publication/320356182_Dream_Recall_and_Content_in_Different_Stages_of_Sleep_and_Time-of-Night_Effect/links/5a707bdb0f7e9ba2e1cade56/Dream-Recall-and-Content-in-Different-Stages-of-Sleep-and-Time-of-Night-Effect.pdf">REM sleep</a>. When dreams or your alarm wake you, you’re likely coming out of dream sleep and your dream often lingers into the first few minutes of being awake. In this case you remember it. If they’re strange or interesting dreams, you might tell someone else about them, which may further <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00426-022-01722-7">encode</a> the dream memory. Dreams and nightmares are mysterious and we’re still learning about them. They keep our brains ticking over. They wash the thoughts from the day’s events at a molecular level. They might even help us imagine what’s possible during our waking hours. <h2>What do scientists know about REM sleep and dreaming?</h2> It’s really hard to study dreaming because people are asleep and we can’t observe what’s going on. Brain imaging has indicated certain <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1087079216300673#sec3">patterns of brain activity</a> are associated with dreaming (and with certain sleep stages where dreams are more likely to occur). But such studies ultimately rely on self-reports of the dream experience. Anything we spend so much time doing probably serves multiple ends. At the basic physiological level (indicated by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810021001409">brain activity, sleep behaviour and studies of conciousness</a>), all mammals dream – even the platypus and echidna probably experience something similar to dreaming (provided they are at the <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/07/the-creature-feature-10-fun-facts-about-the-echidna/#:%7E:text=It%20was%20long%20thought%20that,re%20at%20the%20right%20temperature.">right temperature</a>). Their brain activity and sleep stages align to some degree with human <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810021001409#b0630">REM sleep</a>. Less evolved species do not. Some <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468867319301993#sec0030">jellyfish</a> – who do not have a brain – do experience what could physiologically be characterised as sleep (shown by their posture, quietness, lack of responsiveness and rapid “waking” when prompted). But they do not experience the same physiological and behavioural elements that resemble REM dream sleep. In humans, REM sleep is thought to occur cyclically every 90 to 120 minutes across the night. It prevents us from sleeping too deeply and being <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4972941/">vulnerable to attack</a>. Some scientists think we dream in order to stop our brains and bodies from getting too cold. Our core body temperature is typically <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(22)00210-1/fulltext">higher while dreaming</a>. It is typically easier to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2147/NSS.S188911">wake from dreaming</a> if we need to respond to external cues or dangers. The brain activity in REM sleep kicks our brain into gear for a bit. It’s like a periscope into a more conscious state, observing what’s going on at the surface, then going back down if all is well. Some evidence suggests “fever dreams” are far less common than we might expect. We actually experience <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00053/full">far less REM sleep</a> when we have a fever – though the dreams we do have tend to be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3830719/">darker in tone and more unusual</a>. Spending less time in REM sleep when we’re feverish might happen because we are far less capable of regulating our body temperature in this stage of sleep. To protect us, our brain tries to regulate our temperature by “skipping” this sleep stage. We tend to have fewer dreams when the weather is hot <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23744731.2020.1756664">for the same reason</a>. <h2>A deep-cleaning system for the brain</h2> REM sleep is important for ensuring our brain is working as it should, as indicated by studies using <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(17)31329-5.pdf">electoencephalography</a>, which measures brain activity. In the same way deep sleep helps the body restore its physical capacity, dream sleep “<a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(17)31329-5.pdf">back-flushes</a>” our neural circuits. At the molecular level, the chemicals that underpin our thinking are bent out of shape by the day’s cognitive activity. Deep sleep is when those chemicals are returned to their unused shape. The brain is “<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1241224">washed</a>” with cerebrospinal fluid, controlled by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/on-your-back-side-face-down-mice-show-how-we-sleep-may-trigger-or-protect-our-brain-from-diseases-like-als-181954">glymphatic system</a>. At the next level, dream sleep “tidies up” our recent memories and feelings. During <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC534695/">REM sleep</a>, our brains consolidate procedural memories (of how to do tasks) and emotions. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC534695/">Non-REM sleep</a>, where we typically expect fewer dreams, is important for the consolidation of episodic memories (events from your life). As our night’s sleep progresses, we produce more cortisol - the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-01907-021">stress hormone</a>. It is thought the amount of cortisol present can impact the type of memories we are consolidating and potentially the types of dreams we have. This means the dreams we have later in the night may be <a href="https://learnmem.cshlp.org/content/11/6/671.full.pdf">more fragmented or bizarre</a>. Both kinds of sleep help <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jb-Eichenlaub/publication/313545620_Daily_Life_Experiences_in_Dreams_and_Sleep-Dependent_Memory_Consolidation/links/5c532b0ba6fdccd6b5d76270/Daily-Life-Experiences-in-Dreams-and-Sleep-Dependent-Memory-Consolidation.pdf?ref=nepopularna.org">consolidate</a> the useful brain activity of the day. The brain also discards less important information. <h2>Random thoughts, rearranged feelings</h2> This filing and discarding of the day’s activities is going on while we are sleeping. That’s why we often dream about things that happen <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0264574">during the day</a>. Sometimes when we’re rearranging the thoughts and feelings to go in the “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3921176/">bin</a>” during sleep, our level of consciousness allows us to experience awareness. Random thoughts and feelings end up all jumbled together in weird and wonderful ways. Our awareness of this process may explain the bizarre nature of some of our dreams. Our daytime experiences can also fuel nightmares or anxiety-filled dreams after a <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams/how-trauma-can-affect-dreams">traumatic event</a>. Some dreams appear to <a href="https://rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2010.01668.x">foretell the future or carry potent symbolism</a>. In many societies dreams are believed to be a window into an <a href="https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context=ijts-transpersonalstudies">alternate reality</a> where we can envisage what is possible. <h2>What does it all mean?</h2> Our scientific understanding of the thermoregulatory, molecular and basic neural aspects of dreaming sleep is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn2716">good</a>. But the psychological and spiritual aspects of dreaming remain largely hidden. Perhaps our brains are wired to try and make sense of things. Human societies have always interpreted the random – birds wheeling, tea leaves and the planets – and looked for <a href="https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789047407966/B9789047407966-s003.xml">meaning</a>. Nearly every human society has regarded dreams as more than just random neural firing. And the history of science tells us some things once thought to be magic can later be understood and harnessed – for better or worse.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210901/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/drew-dawson-13517">Drew Dawson</a>, Director, Appleton Institute, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/madeline-sprajcer-1315489">Madeline Sprajcer</a>, Lecturer in Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-dreams-and-nightmares-what-is-going-on-in-our-brains-while-were-sleeping-210901">original article</a>.

Mind

Home and Away star’s holiday health nightmare

Former Home and Away star Sophie Dillman - who played Ziggy on the soap for six years - has opened up about her ongoing fight with endometriosis, and her experience with the condition on holiday. Sophie had been travelling through Europe with her partner-in-life-and-screen Patrick O’Connor after the pair had parted ways with Home and Away, and while the once-in-a-lifetime trip had been a positive experience for the most part, Sophie’s endometriosis chose to rear its painful head while the couple were in Greece. In a column penned for Yahoo Lifestyle, Sophie shared that while she dreamed of having the time of their lives there, she was also on her period, and was in such pain that she couldn’t want - or even eat - properly, and her new holiday clothes were out of the question as her stomach was “so swollen”. She went on to explain that she suffers from endometriosis, “a disease that affects 1 in 9 women and people assigned female at birth. It is a condition where tissue, similar to the lining of your uterus, grows outside the uterus causing pain and/or infertility.” As she put it, the condition is “f***ing awful”, and has impacted all areas of her life: “physically, mentally, emotionally, my relationships, work and NOW IT HAS COME FOR ME ON HOLIDAY.” Sophie’s symptoms tend to occur during her period and ovulation, and range from dull and sharp pains - through her abdomen, lower back, and legs - to nausea, fatigue, and swelling in her torso. And while Sophie had been nursing her pain and waiting for relief to kick in, she’d taken the opportunity to consider “some tips to make the most of the situation”, for while there was no solution to the problem, there was always the benefit of some advice for her fellow fighters. Sophie’s first tip was to travel prepared with the likes of “painkillers, pads, and birth control supplies” as irregular periods and bad luck can make for a terrible combination. She also suggested travelling with “loose flowy clothing”, to ensure an outfit that always fits. Additionally, she recommended taking a pillow along “to restaurants or on trips” to avoid a flare-up from sitting on hard surfaces. “Don’t overdo it” came next, as rest is crucial when battling endometriosis symptoms. “I understand the temptation to do 20,000 steps a day and soak up every second of the place,” she confessed, “but either you slow yourself down or the pain will stop you instead.” And last but certainly not least, Sophie encouraged others not to be too hard on themselves. “You can’t control everything and punishing yourself will only make things worse,” she said. “Listen to your body.” Images: Instagram

Body

Hotel guest wakes to find his toes in the manager’s mouth

A Hilton guest in Nashville has experienced the stuff of nightmares during his overnight stay, having woken in the middle of the night to find the hotel’s manager sucking on his toes. The now-former employee allegedly crept into Peter Brennan’s room using a ‘ghost key card’, according to Brennan’s lawyer, and a warrant has been placed for the arrest of the 52-year-old culprit, David Neal. Brennan is also looking to sue the Hilton Hotel where the incident occurred, WSMV have reported. “I woke up at about 5am,” Brennan explained, “and I was being sexually assaulted by a man who had broken into my room.” Metro police reported that Neal was the night manager at the establishment, and attorney Michael Fisher has claimed that Neal had access to hotel keys despite a criminal past. As court documents note, Neal was previously indicted by the Wilson County Grand Jury in 1996 for second-degree murder in relation to his roommate’s death. In 1997, a jury had found him guilty of manslaughter, while Neal claimed self-defence. And as WKRN have reported, for his 2023 toe sucking offence, Neal allegedly told investigators that he had gone into Brennan’s room without permission using a duplicate key because he could smell smoke and had wanted to check in on its occupant. Brennan, upon waking to find Neal there, confronted his assaulter immediately. He also recognised him as someone who had entered his room the previous day, alongside another hotel employee, to check out a TV issue with the room. "[I] instantly jumped up and was screaming,” he told News Channel 5. “Went into sort of fact-finding mode. ‘Who are you? Why are you in my room? What are you doing here?’ "I could see he was wearing a uniform, he had his name tag on. He was talking to me but not giving me any substantive answers." A spokesperson for the hotel directed the station to the hotel’s local manager for comment, though they refused to comment, telling them that “the safety and security of our guests and team members is our highest priority. We are working closely with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, and, as part of company policy, we do not comment on ongoing investigations." Which can’t have come as much comfort to Brennan, who was trying to come to terms with what he’d been through, and noted that he was “having problems sleeping frankly, I’m going through some PTSD, talking to a therapist. "I still don’t really feel safe in my own home." Images: Getty

Travel Trouble

“A lesson learned”: Uni student lands herself in an overdue book nightmare

A university graduate student received the shock of her academic career when an email arrived in her inbox to inform her she owed her school’s library a whopping $11,900 in overdue book fines. Hannah took to TikTok to share her story, posting a snippet of the horror email, and the news that her library account had amassed a debt of “$11,9000 owed for 119 lost books”. The books had been declared lost, though Hannah was quick to note that she was “still using” each of them, and had every intention of returning them once she was finished with her studies. To drive home the fact that the books were not missing, and instead safely in her scholarly possession, Hannah panned around the various piles of tomes stacked around her home, with a caption reading “the books aren’t lost, I’m just hoarding them until I finish my dissertation.” The email itself explained the books were marked as lost in the library’s system if they exceeded 30 days overdue, and that there was a flat rate of $100 per book in such instances. And according to the library, it was up to each patron to renew their books, and that Hannah “received overdue notices on the following dates prompting you to renew your library books before they are declared lost.” As she explained to The Daily Dot, she had checked out her collection three years prior while she’d been preparing for exams, and confirmed that she had received four reminders to either renew or return the books, but she’d put it off each time. “Then I got the automatic email,” she added, “saying all of the books were marked as lost and my account was charged $100 per book.” Hannah’s woe drew a mixed response from her audience, with some surprised that her library had even let her withdraw that many books in the first place, others unable to wrap their heads around the fact she could have let her situation get so bad, and many quick to defend the librarian, who they declared had only been doing her job. “My library only lets me check out 5 books at a time,” one wrote. “That’s why keeping library books past their due date is considered stealing,” another said, to which Hannah responded to promise her lesson had been learned. “Only 30 days over due??? Damn give a lil more time,” said one, with Hannah informing them that she’d had the books for years by that point. It wasn’t all bad for the budding scholar though, with Hannah explaining in another comment that “it was hunky dory”, as the library had waived her fees as soon as she’d responded to them, and that she’d been allowed to keep all 119 for an additional year. And, as she told another follower, “I’ve never replied to an email faster.” Images: TikTok

Books

Cruise passenger left without a single change of clothes in a lost luggage nightmare

When Australian grandmother Cheryl Stuchbery and her husband, John, set sail with Royal Caribbean cruises from Sydney to New Zealand, they thought they were embarking on their dream holiday. But some dreams are destined to turn into nightmares, as Cheryl soon learned, when it was revealed that staff aboard the cruise liner had lost her suitcase. For the next 11 days, Cheryl was left without so much as a change of clothes, forced to wear the same outfit time and time again. John helped as much as he could, offering his own underwear so that his wife wasn’t entirely going without. Speaking to Australia’s A Current Affair, Cheryl admitted that the entire experience had left her “very depressed. I was in tears a lot at the time.” “Cheryl ended up wearing my knickers,” John explained, adding that it only made sense, because his clothes had actually been available. "I've put a pair on, but the only thing is, I couldn't fill out the little pouch in the front," Cheryl added. When the staff were unable to locate her bag on the second day of the trip, they offered to wash her one outfit for her. Every morning, they would drop by, collect her things, and take them off to wash and dry. While this ensured Cheryl had clean clothes to wear each day, it also meant she started them with three hours sitting in her cabin and waiting. “They [would] give Cheryl a t-shirt and a dressing gown,” John explained, “so for the first sort of three hours each day, we're sitting in the room waiting for the clothes to come back.” In the time since, Cheryl has tried to find humour in the whole situation, though she certainly hadn’t even been able to consider it at the time. It wasn’t the first time the couple had set out on a cruise, it was just the first that their belongings hadn’t made it along with them. “They did say it was very unusual for a suitcase not to turn up at all,” Cheryl noted. “For quite a bit of time we felt that it had been stolen because they'd searched the ship," John said. And, in timing that came as no help to the cruising couple, Cheryl’s bag turned up the very day after they’d arrived back in Sydney. To make matters even worse, it had been onboard the whole time. As John put it, “it had been on [the] boat all the time and they say, 'well, that's okay, you've got your case back'.” Royal Caribbean have since issued a statement in apology, writing that they “sincerely apologise for misplacing Mr and Mrs Stuchbery's luggage. During their cruise, Mr and Mrs Stuchbery were provided with complimentary express laundry, an onboard credit to assist with purchasing incidental items, and specialty dining. “The luggage was located on return to Sydney and Mr and Mrs Stuchbery have been offered additional compensation and documentation to support a claim via their travel insurance.” But it hasn’t done anything to help the sour taste of the whole ordeal left in the Stuchbery’s mouths, with Cheryl declaring that she still “feel[s] very angry.” Images: A Current Affair / Nine

Cruising

“The stuff of nightmares”: Baked to imperfection

Some people are destined for the kitchen, while others may be better suited to a career in comedy, if these cake decorating disasters are anything to go by. Even armed with a visual guide and the world’s best intentions, some bakers are just in for a wild time - and thanks to some good-natured social media posts, we can all enjoy the colourful consequences right along with them. Lucy was one such baker to face a betrayal from her cake. Posting to the Facebook page Woolies/Coles Mudcake Hacks, she shared her experience trying to follow professional baker Tegan ‘Tigga’ Maccormack’s Bluey birthday cake tutorial. Needless to say, their end results weren’t exactly mirror images. "Enjoy this absolute abomination - it looked easy on TikTok," Lucy wrote, attaching a picture of her hilarious creation. Fellow Facebook users loved her attempt, with some even trying to make Lucy feel better. One informed her that although it was nothing like the inspiration picture, it was “very cute”. “OMG I genuinely love it!” another declared. “It made me smile, thank you for sharing.” Meanwhile, one mum wrote that her seven-year-old encouraged Lucy to “keep trying!”, before stating that “it looks so bad she should probably eat the whole thing.” On Reddit, someone had another unfortunate cake story to share - though this time they weren’t the baker responsible, simply the customer who got something they certainly hadn’t paid for. “The ice cream cake we ordered vs what we received,” they wrote, sharing the image of two monkey cakes. One, the ‘expectation’ image, was a smoothly iced monkey head. The second, the ‘received’ product, was at least discernible as a monkey, even if the ‘smooth’ icing job left a lot to be desired. “This was an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins," it was explained. “They usually come out exactly as pictured online, but this time was truly spectacular." And while many thought this particular approach to replicating the vision was hilarious, most were of the opinion that this had not actually been a failure, but instead an improvement. According to the majority in the comments, “frosting tastes much better than fondant” anyway. Another Reddit user referenced a tweet they’d seen of another cake disaster, this time of a Minnie Mouse cake that someone had purchased for their niece, and the nightmare they’d gotten in return. “I saw that it was posted in Arabic on Twitter, and it was pretty funny,” the Reddit user said, “so I just wanted to share it with a wider audience!" “The cake's shininess is the stuff of nightmares,” was all one had to say about it. “I would not have paid for that abomination,” another said. Thankfully for the individual who had dealt with the cake firsthand, they were able to return it for a full refund. "The cake was for my sister for her birthday," they told TODAY. "In the beginning, it was a horrible shock for us, but after I posted the picture on Twitter, I was laughing because of people's reactions." Images: Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, Shutterstock

Food & Wine

“Just heartbreaking”: Woman’s dream win turned nightmare

Amelia Conway has opened up about her heartbreak after her dream car was snatched away from her in the middle of the night. The 22-year-old from Victoria received the $100,000 4WD when she was named the winner of a Hello Lifestyle Australia online charity raffle. Amelia had purchased $120 worth of tickets in the draw, and was delighted when she was announced as the proud new owner of the modified Widebody Y62 Nissan Patrol. Supposedly, all associated on-road costs were also included in her prize. Amelia lives in Colac, Victoria, and had to be flown to Queensland by Hello Lifestyle Australia to claim her vehicle. Flights weren’t in order for the return trip, with the excited pair driving Amelia’s new car all the way back home to Victoria. However, Amelia’s good time was destined to come to an abrupt end. Upon trying to transfer the car into her name, and to register it in her home state as necessary, she discovered that the vehicle was still under finance. It had been one of Amelia’s friends who suggested that she look into the “too good to be true” win, and do a Personal Property Securities Register check. “I thought maybe they had paid it out,” Amelia said of learning the vehicle had money owing, “and it's taken a little while to clear, but that wasn't the case.” February 1 marked the beginning of Amelia’s nightmare, with someone showing up at her home to repossess the car. “Randomly, without me knowing anything, at 8pm last night a guy showed up to repossess the car,” Amelia said of the incident in a Facebook post. In the time to follow, Amelia attempted to get in touch with Hello Lifestyle Australia to find out more about what was going on with the vehicle’s transfer, and to get clarification on the payment of all on-road costs. But those attempts were met with silence for the unfortunate 22 year old. Victoria Police also confirmed that they are investigating Amelia’s case, but faced a difficult time ahead, with Hello Lifestyle Australia’s website and social media accounts having been shut down. “The patrol is gone and I am trying to gather information through other people that have won anything through Hello Lifestyle Australia to take it a lot further,” she said of her ordeal, adding, “it’s not fair on myself or anyone else that has won anything through this company. It’s just heartbreaking.” However, in a delightful twist to Amelia’s tale, Car Hub Australia took it upon themselves to get involved and to “right others’ wrong”. After searching the country high and low for a new Nissan Patrol - a vehicle in high demand with waiting lists measuring in months - before finally locating one on the New South Wales south coast. The team then made their way from Western Australia to Wollongong, before driving the car all the way to Amelia at home in Victoria. And all the company had to say of their good deed was that they “know there’s a lot of companies out there that don’t do the right thing. “We hold ourselves to a higher standard.” Despite the eventual happy ending to Amelia’s woes, it appears that she was not the first victim of Hello Lifestyle Australia’s “raffles”. Aaron Edmundson, a father from Perth, claims that he had to spend over $7,000 on a car that he also “won” from them. While the company apparently claimed that they would cover all related costs, this wasn’t the case, with Aaron eventually selling the car. Images: Seven News / Facebook

Legal

Sounds great: Scientists are manipulating dreams to prevent nightmares

It’s estimated that at any given time, around 4% of adults suffer <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/one-side-of-your-brain-might-be-giving-you-nightmares/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chronic nightmares</a> but researchers in Switzerland have a new approach which will be music to the ears of night-terror-sufferers. Basing their study on the relationship between the types of <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/biology/nightmares-and-night-terrors-in-kids-when-do-they-stop-being-normal/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">emotions experienced in dreams</a> and our emotional well-being, researchers have investigated how to help people by manipulating emotions in their dreams. Traditional methods to help chronic nightmare patients involves ‘imagery rehearsal therapy’, during which they are coached to rehearse the dream scenario during the day and redirect it towards a more positive ending. A <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11818-021-00320-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2021 study</a> of 28 participants showed 3 in 5 patients benefitted from this approach, however, it doesn’t work for everyone. <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p220659-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> </div> </div> In a <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01477-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study from Geneva University</a>, over a two-week period, researchers asked a group of 18 patients to create an association between the positively redirected version of their dream and a sound during an imagination exercise. The patients then wore wireless headbands during night which would play the specific sound during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep – when <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nightmare-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353515" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nightmares typically occur</a>. When compared to 18 patients who undertook only the image rehearsal therapy, those who received the combined rehearsal and sound therapy had fewer nightmares. This trend continued even after three months post-intervention, with those receiving combination therapy also reporting experiencing more positive emotions such as ‘joy’ in their dreams. “We were positively surprised by how well the participants respected and tolerated the study procedures, for example performing imagery rehearsal therapy every day and wearing the sleep headband during the night,” says Lampros Perogamvros, senior author of the study and a psychiatrist at the Sleep Laboratory of the Geneva University Hospitals and the University of Geneva. “We observed a fast decrease of nightmares, together with dreams becoming emotionally more positive. For us, researchers and clinicians, these findings are very promising both for the study of emotional processing during sleep and for the development of new therapies.” <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=220659&title=Sounds+great%3A+Scientists+are+manipulating+dreams+to+prevent+nightmares" width="1" height="1" /> <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/sounds-great-preventing-nightmares/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on Cosmos Magazine and was written by Clare Kenyon. Image: Getty Images </div>

Mind

“I live in a tent”: Horror renovations see woman living in home with no roof

A woman and her son have been left living in a “tent” home filled with mould, exposed wiring and holes after renovation plans went horribly wrong. In February 2020, Jill Harris hired Extension Factory to extend and add a second storey to her Melbourne home. Two years later, she says she has been left living in poor conditions after numerous problems plagued the construction work. With tarps replacing the roof overhead, Ms Harris said the home is flooded by “waterfalls that leak through the light fittings” when it rains and that the only thing her home was good for was Halloween. “I call this the tent. I live in the tent because there is no roof over my room or my son‘s room,” she told A Current Affair. “I have good days where I try to be positive and I have the lowest of lows.” <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/aca-house-damage.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Exposed wiring, holes, and a lack of a watertight roof have been just some of the issues Jill Harris has faced while living in her unfinished home. Images: A Current Affair Ms Harris said the builders first built the storey out of square, forcing them to knock it all down and start again. “(It) just went completely wrong from there. They built it 160mm out of square, which we didn't find out till 12 months later,” she said. Work was eventually stopped by surveyor Steve Maloney after the builders allegedly continued work without the permission of the inspector. Mr Maloney said work needed to stop because of the “owner(s) and their builders' compliances with the building legislation”. Since then, Ms Harris has turned her unfinished home into a warning against the company, adorning the front with signs reading that the company is “destroying our lives”, “doesn’t care” and that “a contract with them means nothing”. “I’ts (sic) cheaper for the “Extension Factory” to put this in the hands than it is to honour my contract with them and finish my home. Tens of thousands of dollars of mistakes, so they gave up and use lawyers to protect them!” another sign reads. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/extension-factory1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> After no resolution was reached to finish her home, Jill Harris let out her frustration against Extension Factory through signs displayed in front of her home. Image: A Current Affair Gerry Hoggard, the owner of Extension Factory, conceded that there had been issues with the property and said he could appreciate Ms Harris being upset. “It certainly was an error, it was built out of square, we accepted responsibility and took it down,” Mr Hoggard said. “I know what she’s living through. “I don’t like it (my name) being treated that way, but I can appreciate she‘s upset about what’s transpired.” Although he claimed that Ms Harris was advised to vacate the property at the start of the build, her brother Ashley, a former Extension Factory employee, said it wasn’t going to happen. “It’s not the sort of job that you would leave anyone occupying the premises,” Mr Hoggard said. However, Ms Harris said she wasn’t told that she would need to vacate her property. A Current Affair reported that it alerted the Victorian Building Authority to Ms Harris’ situation, prompting the organisation to release a statement. "The Victorian Building Authority takes complaints against building and plumbing practitioners extremely seriously,” it read, adding that the building authority carries out thousands of inspections to ensure work is compliant. "When it doesn't, we use the powers available to us to hold practitioners accountable." Image: A Current Affair

Real Estate

Dream home turns into nightmare for scam victims

A Queensland couple who thought they had snapped up the home of their dreams have been left devastated after they lost almost $40,000 to a “cunning” email scammer instead. When Mitch Wilson and Penny Davies received an email from what appeared to be their real estate agent’s email address, they believed they were following their agent’s advice to then transfer the deposit for their house into a bank account. “It plays over and over in my head all of the time,” Ms Davies said. “We got an email from the real estate agent we had been dealing with, from their email account, saying in light of the contract please pay money to this account,” Mr Wilson told 9News. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/08/receipts.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> The couple lost nearly $40,000 after receiving the fraudulent email (left), realising their costly mistake while messaging the actual real estate agent (right). Images: 9News After transferring the $39,000 sum, they thought nothing of it until the agent contacted them several days later asking where the funds were. “We went back and forth, we exchanged screenshots and emails from their side and ours, and what was obvious is the money didn’t go where it was supposed to go which was their account,” Mr Wilson said. “(It) ended up in some fraudster‘s account and then offshore to a crypto account.” But, the couple aren’t the only victims of this kind of scam, which police refer to as an email compromise scam. The scammers infiltrate an email account and use it to send emails to victims - making it difficult to identify that they are being scammed. Constance Hall, a mummy blogger, told news.com.au she felt “stupid” after losing thousands of dollars to the scam after she transferred money via a link sent from the real estate agency that managed the rental property she believed she was paying a deposit for. When she contacted the bank, she was told that the chance of recovering the funds was minimal as she had authorised the transaction, and that she should report it to the police. In the end, only $7.57 was recovered. “To have it all stolen in an instant … felt unbelievably unfair,” she said. Ian Wells, of Queensland Police’s Cyber Crime Group, told 9News: “These people with these skills, they‘re very cunning, they’re very calculated.” Police are advising home buyers to contact the business before paying invoices online to confirm bank account numbers, as the hackers change the bank accounts in invoices sent by business owners before forwarding the altered invoices to unsuspecting customers. Victims are also urged to contact their bank as soon as possible to report the fraudulent transaction. As for businesses impacted by the scams, the Australian Cyber Security Centre advises that they report the incident at <a href="https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/report</a>, alert other employees and clients, and report the breach to their email service provider. Image: 9News

Real Estate

Check before you fly: Woman warns others after tiny passport detail causes nightmare

An Aussie woman has issued a warning to fellow travellers after a tiny detail on her passport stopped her from moving to New Zealand and made for an upsetting and expensive experience. Lindsey Gray planned to relocate from Sydney in March with her partner and one-year-old son, who are already New Zealand citizens. After months of waiting for a travel permit, Ms Gray was finally allowed to move - but she only made it to Sydney’s international airport before the problems started. Immigration officials noticed that a couple of pages in Ms Gray’s passport had some minor damage that prevented her from boarding the plane. Speaking to <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/tiny-passport-detail-sees-family-denied-from-overseas-move-081850947.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yahoo News</a>, Ms Gray said her young toddler must have found her passport and chewed the edges at some point during the chaos of moving country. “When [New Zealand immigration officials] saw the nibble on my passport, they were 100 percent unimpressed,” she told the outlet. “They told me it could have been tampered with and therefore I would not be allowed to travel.” She explained that since New Zealand borders were closed at the time, her passport had to be checked over by an immigration official “rather than just scanned by the Qantas staff”, and that’s when the damage was noticed. After rushing to secure an emergency appointment to obtain a new passport - costing a hefty $533 - and undergoing more Covid testing, Ms Gray and her family were able to book new flights and fly out the next day. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/04/nz21.jpg" alt="" width="512" height="431" /> Lindsey Gray, her partner Matt, and her son Douglas successfully made the move to New Zealand. Image: Yahoo News The Aussie mum praised Qantas staff and the passport office staff for their compassion while helping with her case, but said the experience was still incredibly upsetting. “We had our house on the market and all our possessions already shipped to New Zealand and therefore we were effectively homeless in Australia,” she told Yahoo News. Ms Gray also joked that as a result of the experience, “my puffy, distressed, cry-face is now my passport image for the next 10 years”. “The story is immortalised and commemorated in this way,” she added. She warned other “out-of-practice travellers” to take care of their passports to avoid having the same experience as her. “Please don’t get the photo page of your passport damaged in any way, people,” she said. “Big lesson for out-of-practice travellers here - check that puppy for damage before flying.” Image: Yahoo News

Travel Trouble

Tenant “living in hell” with nightmare landlord’s restrictions

A woman claims she was “living in hell” under the regime of a strict landlord just days into her tenancy. The woman, named Mel, says her landlady imposed several unreasonable restrictions two days after she moved in, which involved restricting her access to parts of the house to short windows. Mel paid $1,090 (£595) a month to live in the two-storey South London home, and said that everything started out great in her new home when she moved in. Speaking with <a href="https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/south-london-woman-living-hell-23205354">MyLondon</a>, Mel said her landlady Sheena Shepherd presented her with a set of rules for the home within the first week of her tenancy, stipulating that she would only have access to the kitchen between 9am to 11am and 12pm to 2pm as Shepherd would be running PT sessions from home. If she needed to use the kitchen outside of these hours, she needed to cross reference Shepherd's demanding schedule. The lounge room was also off limits, with access only allowed to reach the kitchen. Mel also wouldn't be able to use the front door to the property between 9am and 5:30pm and was only permitted to work from home in her bedroom. Mel also told MyLondon that she was to "only come down the stairs once a day" in order to avoid disturbing Shepherd while she worked in the lounge, and was banned from having deliveries sent to the house as the doorbell was deemed "too distracting". Elsewhere in the house, Mel claims wardrobes were full of her landlady's "personal stuff," leaving her to keep her own belongings in the loft or shed. The relationship between the two quickly deteriorated, as Shepherd told Mel over WhatsApp, "You pay for a ROOM. If you want full access to the half, pay half the bills too. When you can pay £1,000 you can have equal say! Have some respect and not be so bloody entitled." Despite only having a three-month rental contract, Shepherd continuously tried to get Mel to leave early, but to no avail. The conflict eventually culminated in Shepherd having a party in the residence, where one of her guests verbally abused Mel in the kitchen with the police being called as a result. Tired of the abuse and restrictions at the hands of her landlady, Mel left the home and moved into a hotel, which she asked Shepherd to cover the costs of. The pair are now involved in legal proceedings over what happened during Mel’s tenancy. Image credits: Getty Images / MyLondon

Real Estate

Date sends woman home for not liking her outfit

While most people have a dating disaster story, Nikki Harding’s could rival the very best, as her evening ended alone and in tears. Nikki had been getting to know a guy she was interested in for three weeks, and ignored a few red flags she noticed during their initial meeting. Ignoring her gut instinct, Nikki chose to give her new man the benefit of the doubt. However, when the two had scheduled a date together, Nikki was left feeling heartbroken and humiliated. The two had planned to go to a work event for the man’s retail company, and Nikki was excited to meet his friends and colleagues. Nikki showed up looking glamorous and chic in a black long-sleeved crop top, pink trousers and her hair and makeup styled accordingly. However, when she arrived at the event, her date “was too embarrassed” and sent Nikki home in an Uber. Taking to TikTok to explain her ordeal, she wrote, “It’s been 3 weeks. I spent 40 minutes on my makeup to meet his friends and coworkers at a grand opening for the retail company he works for.” “He was too embarrassed to be seen with me in this outfit, so he sent me home in an Uber and went to the opening without me.” Nikki shared the details of her fleeting relationship with her online followers, as she admitted it was not the first time the man had commented on her appearance. She said, “It all started with little comments here and there over the past couple of weeks like “Why are you wearing heels? I like it when you wear tennis shoes. Why are you wearing so much makeup? I really like it when you’re natural.” After sharing the details, her followers were quick to give her relationship advice. One person commented, “ “Remember: This is him in the beginning. This is him on his best behaviour. Run.” Many others told Nikki she deserved a lot better, and described it as “a blessing” that she got out of the relationship early, to which Nikki responded, “I deserve better than this.” Since the nightmare date, Nikki has made sure to dress exactly how she wants to. Image credits: TikTok @nikki.jabs

Beauty & Style

Neighbour sends confronting note about a nearby home’s exterior

A neighbour has been left feeling shocked after they received a scathing note that details how they have been letting down their street. The author of the letter, who is new to the neighbourhood, has detailed all the ways that the house needs to be renovated to keep up appearances. The letter was posted on Reddit, and reads, “Dear neighbour. Just thought I'd drop a line to ask you to do something with your house. "We recently moved in and are down the corner from you, and yes the front yards are very small, and the landscaping is very minimal, it's easy to clean, plain, fixup and garden these homes, especially in the front.” The letter goes on to detail how the author’s family nominated the house as “the worst on both sides of the block”, as they tell their children “that’s where the lazy’s live.” <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7845949/neighbour-note.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b746806abf1e4bfba8b62d75a4b703ae" /> Image credit: Reddit The letter goes on to rattle off a list of things they expect to be done to their neighbour’s house, including having the house painted, lawn mowed, weeds removed and “showing some initiative.” The author even wonders if the residents “have absolutely no pride”, as they insist they “do something with the front of that s*** hole.” The Reddit post welcomed a flood of comments from sympathisers, saying the author’s request is uncalled for and unfair. While some users shared their own experiences with nightmare neighbours, many people told the recipient of the letter to simply adorn their front lawn with “plastic flamingos and lawn gnomes”. Another thought it was a good idea, adding, "Flamingos might be too tame. I think it's time to invest in a modest display of giant lawn gnomes in raunchy poses." Image credits: Getty Images / Reddit

Travel Trouble

Iconic horror house hits market with help of Freddy Krueger

A piece of horror history is up for grabs, as the home featured in A Nightmare on Elm Street has been <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/house-from-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-hits-the-market-ahead-of-halloween-1098301/" target="_blank">listed for sale</a> right before Halloween. The Los Angeles property served as the home of teenager Nancy Thompson (Heather Lagenkamp) in the classic 1984 horror flick about serial killer Freddy Krueger. Since the movie mostly used the exterior of the home - which retains its iconic green and white facade - the inside is less nightmarish than you’d expect. Inside the Dutch Colonial-style home you’ll find walnut floors throughout, patios, terraces, and French doors that open out to sights of the stunning grounds. The 640-square-metre property also comes with a detached guest house, which <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.elliman.com/california/sales/detail/512-l-564-81_21785216/1428-n-genesee-ave-spaulding-square-los-angeles-ca-90046" target="_blank">the listing</a> describes as “charm personified”. Still, the realtors have enlisted the help of the horror icon to sell the home. On top of the typical shots of the property, agents Heather Roy and Learka Bosnak brought in a colleague <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dirt.com/gallery/locations/filming-locations/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-house-hollywood-1203432270/lb-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-house-4/" target="_blank">dressed as Freddy Krueger</a> to appear in some additional photos while performing mundane tasks. The home has been listed by Douglas Elliman for $USD 3.25 million ($NZD 4.53 million), with offers due before the spookily appropriate date of October 31. Images: New Line Cinema, Anthony Barcelo

Real Estate

Fireman encounters worst nightmare at fatal crash

When Welsh fireman Adrian Smith responded to an emergency call on Sunday, he encountered every emergency worker’s worst nightmare. Mr Smith attended the scene of a triple-car pile-up to find his 21-year-old daughter Ella’s body being pulled from the wreckage. Ella had been driving home from the beach at Broad Haven in Pembrokeshire when the accident occurred, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15282074/fireman-horrific-crash-discovered-beautiful-daughter-dead/">The Sun reports</a>. Her 47-year-old father was on duty nearby when he was called out to the three-car crash, discovering that a car had smashed into the passenger side of the car Ella was in. The driver, along with a man and woman in another car, suffered serious injuries, but Ella died at the scene. “It must have been a complete nightmare for Adrian to find his own daughter was the victim,” a family friend said. “Ella was a lovely girl, they are a lovely family - everyone is in shock and totally devastated.” Hours after the accident, Mr Smith broke the news of his daughter’s passing by sharing a picture of him and her dancing together at a party when she was a little girl. “We are utterly devastated at losing our beloved Ella,” the family wrote in a statement released by local police. “She was a much-loved and caring daughter, sister and granddaughter. “She was a beautiful girl who will be missed by all.” Tributes flooded in for the young victim, who worked at a bakery. A friend described her as a “gorgeous person” while another said she was “the kindest soul you could ever meet”. “I loved every minute of speaking to you Ella, you never failed to make me laugh,” another friend said. Police have asked for any other drivers at the scene to share any dashcam footage from the incident, in an effort to find out more about the cause of the crash. Image: Facebook

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Iconic horror house hits market with help of Freddy Krueger

Fireman encounters worst nightmare at fatal crash